Time
for some fun & frivolity away from the city! Yay! A
few friends and I headed to Cinque Terre (Five Lands) this weekend to see the sights and do
some hiking. Our adventures were
amazing!
Cinque
Terre is five towns/fishing villages strung together along the Italian Riviera, each with their own charm
and sights to see. The five towns are:
Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
We started the day by taking a bus to Nervi, followed by a train to Monterosso. It was quite the start to the day as we were trying to make sure we all made it on to the same bus (three of us live quite close and use the same stop while the other friend gets on ahead of us). First we thought she missed the bus so we lollygagged and took our time. But then, shortly after the “Missed the bus” text, we got a “On the bus” text. Yikes! Panic set in, running occurred, food was on the go, items were quickly found and we booked it to the bus stop; only to turn the corner and see the bus leaving our stop. Drat! So close yet so far away. Luckily for us we could walk and get water and catch the next bus soon after.
We
found the train station in Nervi easily thanks to Alex’s directions and easily
bought tickets for the first time on our own. We
decided to go first class – guaranteed a seat and not as crowded as 2nd
class. A little more expensive yes but
since we weren’t sure about this whole process we thought we’d opt for it. At first we thought the whole idea was null
and void as there weren’t many people at all on the 8:00am train on a
Saturday. However, our train ride was an
hour long (+) and we soon found out that with all the tourists entering the
train at the various stops along the way, the first class tickets were well
worth the few extra Euros.
Waiting for the train.
On the train - Ellie & Alex.
On the train - Beth and me.
Our
first stop was Monterosso - the beginning
of the Cinque Terre adventures when approaching from the west. Now the cool thing about all of these towns
is that they are attached via hiking trails.
Each trail is unique and has its own various nooks, crannies, length
(anywhere from 30mins to 4.5hr hikes) and things to see. Unfortunately, there were landslides awhile
ago (spring? summer? I can’t recall exactly when) so some of the paths are
closed/washed out. Luckily for us, we
were only planning on doing one hike – the one connecting the first and second
towns, that was 1.5hrs. There are also
trains and buses that connect each of the towns so you can hike as much or as
little as you want (or not at all as the hikes can be quite eventful).
Just arrived and getting our bearings.
The "squatty potty" - these are the bathrooms at the train station.
Hovering is an art here ;)
So
we bought our trail tickets (you need these for the trains, buses, hiking) and
then headed to grab a snack before we left.
Cinque Terre is very tourist driven so the use of English is quite
prevalent putting me in a comfort zone - although we were able to get bottles
of water this morning successfully and our whole conversation was in Italian ;) We found a quaint little place where we got a
very North American style meal – eggs, bacon (the kind we’re used to),
smoothies, and real sized cups of coffee.
Then we were off on the hike.
It
was SO beautiful! To be able to see the
coast and the sea from the vantage points that we did was amazing. Our hike started off quite easily but the
path soon became windy, vertical, rocky, narrow, etc It wasn’t difficult, just strenuous
but an experience that I’d definitely do again. We saw grape fields built into the side of the
hill, little streams running through lush green areas, the sea spanning out
from behind bushes, and little vendors who somehow made it up the hill with
their wares for the weary hikers. At
times we’d pass/meet those headed to Monterosso or we’d catch up to another
group and need to pass which was quite an interesting endeavour. You always tried to find “passing places”
(where the path was a little wider than normal) but that wasn’t always the case
so you can get very close and friendly to those around you. My sore knee from
earlier this week did take a toll and by the time we reached the next town of
Vernazza I was ready for a break.
The start of our journey.
A lock gate. You and your partner write
your initials on a lock, lock it on the gate,
and throw your key in the sea; pledging eternal love to each other.
A look back on Monterosso
The start of our hike.
People have carved their initials into various plants along the way.
Terraced fields of grapes.
How the rest of the path looked for the next hour and 15 minutes.
The vertical climb begins.
Starting to see Vernazza
More locks on gates.
After
our lunch, we proceeded on our adventure.
The rest of the day took us by train to Corniglia, Manarola, and
Riomaggiore. We had wanted to do the 30
min hike called “Lover’s Lane” from Corniglia to Manarola but this was one of the
section’s that was closed. L Either way the train rides between towns were
quick (if you made the train or when it came as the wait could be anywhere from
a few to 30 min between trains – especially if they were late due to the
crowds). In all of the places we were
constantly amazed by the beauty of Italy.
Between the sea, the coast, the houses, the towns, there was always so
much to see. We even ran into a couple
of couples who were vacationing in Tuscany, and in Cinque Terre for the day,
from Vancouver, BC Canada and got to share some stories with each other.
Views from Corniglia.
The stairs to get from the train station to Corniglia. Reminds me
of that famous picture of the stairs in all directions.
Manarola. Love how it's built into the side of the hill.
Our
day ended with a nice meal in Riomaggiore.
We ended up in the depths of the restaurant but had excellent food and
terrific service. Upon leaving, we ran
to get a train but when buying a ticket ended up having an epic fail. Unfortunately, at a certain time the train
ticket booths stop accepting and giving cash (and you can’t put coins in so if
there isn’t change available you HAVE to use a card of some sort). Therefore, while trying to get a ticket we
watched our train come and go.
*sigh* Well this just meant we
found another ticket booth, got our tickets FINALLY, then proceeded back into
the town for dessert and wine. This of
course was no easy feat, although it would seem that it should be when you’re a
North American native. But some restaurants
were too full, some had open tables while others had waiting lines in the streets. Needless to say we finally found a place for
dessert and wine. We did however almost
lose our table (we lost half of it) since we weren’t ordering dinner just
dessert from the place right next door that the restaurant was advertising
desert for. It was such a bizarre set
up, but a definite learning experience.
We
were able to get on our train for home just after 10pm. Most of us were drifting off to sleep (ok, I
was drifting off to sleep) as we slowly rocked and rolled home for the next
hour and a half.
It
was one of those times were I missed having my SUV with vengeance. After the train ride, we had a bit of a walk
to the bus stop, waited for and took the bus (which together really wasn’t that
long of a wait) then a tiny walk home. I
know I’ll definitely get used to the different transportation and the lack of
convenience, in some ways, but the fact that I can enjoy much vino to my heart’s
content and not have to worry about driving is great.
All
in all, it was a long day but a super fun one!
I was really glad to have some awesome people to enjoy it with and I’d
definitely love to take my family and friends there sometime. Italy has the most beautiful and amazing
places that I’ve ever seen and I’m looking forward to discovering more and more
in this country.
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